LM Studio
Desktop app to discover, download, and run local LLMs with a polished chat UI and OpenAI-compatible server.
LM Studio is a desktop app to discover, download, and run local LLMs with a polished chat UI and OpenAI-compatible server. Exposes a local OpenAI-compatible API server for integrating with other applications.
About LM Studio
LM Studio is a desktop app for discovering, downloading, and running local LLMs, with a chat UI and an OpenAI-compatible server.
It runs models entirely on your local hardware, so prompts and data never leave your machine, and it exposes a local OpenAI-compatible API server for integrating with other applications. A built-in model browser lets you find and download open-source LLMs, and it ships as a native app on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
It fits people who want private, offline model use or a local endpoint for their own apps. It is a weaker fit if you want open-source software, since the desktop app is proprietary, if you need hosted models, since it does not provide access to GPT-4 or Claude, or if your machine is limited, since inference speed and model size are constrained by your local hardware.
LM Studio keeps inference on your own device rather than on a hosted service.
Sources: this listing
What it does well
- Exposes a local OpenAI-compatible API server for integrating with other applications.
- Includes a built-in model browser to discover and download open-source LLMs.
- Runs models entirely on local hardware, so prompts and data do not leave the user's machine.
- Available as a native desktop application on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Where it falls short
- Desktop application is proprietary and not open source.
- Inference speed and model size are constrained by the user's local hardware.
- Does not provide access to proprietary hosted models like GPT-4 or Claude.
Tagged
- Supports Local Models
- Beginner-friendly
- Free
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- 06Freemium →Captions Mobile
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Concepts you should know
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</a>Frequently asked questions
- What is LM Studio?
- LM Studio is a desktop app to discover, download, and run local LLMs with a polished chat UI and OpenAI-compatible server.
- Is LM Studio free?
- LM Studio is free to use. There is no paid tier as of the last index update.
- What platforms does LM Studio support?
- LM Studio runs on mac, win, linux.
- What category does LM Studio belong to?
- LM Studio is in the AI Chatbots & Assistants category — Custom GPTs, Claude apps, niche assistants — chat interfaces aimed at a specific user, topic, or workflow.
- What are the downsides of LM Studio?
- Desktop application is proprietary and not open source. Inference speed and model size are constrained by the user's local hardware. Does not provide access to proprietary hosted models like GPT-4 or Claude.